


Frylord Zim

by Retro_Seven



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: No Romance, Zim's incompetence is what's driving the "plot" basically, all Sizz-Lorr wanted was a vacation, repost from my ff.net
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-10-30 03:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10867782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Retro_Seven/pseuds/Retro_Seven
Summary: Zim didn't get the memo about Operation Impending Doom:II. He can't do much of anything except serve out his sentence, but with really dumb luck on his side, he manages to claw his way into the position of Frylord! However, that doesn't mean his life will become any easier.





	1. APPETIZER OF PAIN

 

 

 

Frylord Zim Chapter 1

* * *

Zim feels every limb of his body aching from exhaustion. As it usually does these days. Ever since he was 'sent on vacation' (in Zim's words) he was subjected to hard labor and humiliation. Stuck serving rude, vile customers, cleaning dirty bathrooms, and getting burned alive with white-hot grease, it was truly a terrible way to live.

During the night Shloogorgh's is closed giving him time to unwind, after he cleans the restaurant, counts the monies, and stock the soda and food of course. He spends whatever little time he has watching TV or making dangerous weapons out of random stuff you could find at a fast-food restaurant- however, the last time he did that caused a huge explosion that destroyed the back of the restaurant and earned him a beating from an enraged Frylord.

Zim slouched on the oversized recliner with cleaning fluid dripping down his face as he flipped through the channels looking for anything to watch; his thumb stopped when an image of an irken with a strange metal mask-helmet popped up on the screen. Before Zim could get what he was saying Sizz-lorr came in through the door with a bang.

"Zim! How many times do I have to tell you to clean out the sludge from the back of the fridge?!", Sizz-lorr yelled. He grabbed Zim by the collar and threw him out the door. Zim screamed as he crashed into a group of trash cans making even more of a mess.

"Ow, my brilliant head!"

The jailer grunted and picked up the remote just as the announcer reported on Operation: Impending Doom II and something about nachos.

"Heh, it hasn't even been 20 years and already they're launching a follow-up.", he mused before flipping the tv off and walked away. He needed to supervise a certain insane irken or else he'll inevitably cause trouble. Again.

* * *


	2. I DIDN'T ORDER THAT

"Zim!", Sizz-lorr shouted as he threw a sponge at Zim throwing him off balance followed by a spray bottle and which caused the worker to fall on his bottom.

"Booth 12 is getting disgusting-Clean it up!". The humongous Frylord pointed at a table that looked moldy and had just started to grow tendrils again. A visible shiver ran down Zim's spine. Damn that booth, it never stays clean for long.

Zim grimace as some of the small tendrils latched onto his hand, but it's nothing a good spray of bleach will do. It took the failed invader two hours of furious scrubbing to finally rid the cursed table of any grime or mold. As he was busy with cleaning Sizz-lorr manned the register. Today was slow so the sadistic Frylord took the opportunity to watch the drone and snicker at his distress. When Zim completed his task he fell on the floor and lay there for a few minutes until Sizz-lorr had enough.

"Zim, come to the back I have something important to tell you.", the obese irken grabbed the exhausted food-service drone by the apron and led him to the kitchen. When they were in the kitchen Sizz-lorr dropped him on the floor and it took Zim a second to stand up.

"In 3 days the The Great Foodening will occur and I want you to be ready for it."

"Huggh?", Zim answered groggily.

"I'm serious, Zim…", Sizz-lorr snarl as his eyes squinted in anger.

"The Great Foodening is do or die for us, if we can't keep up then we will be crushed. And if that happens Shloogorgh's will cease to exist and I will hold you responsible.", The Frylord's threat stuck Zim in a way that very few things ever did in the defective's life; he nodded nervously and yelped a "Yes, my Frylord" after saluting.

"Good. If you perform well during The Foodening then I might consider rewarding you…"

"Really? Is it going to be a robot death monkey?!", Zim gleefully asked. Sizz-lorr just gave him blank look.

"Yeeeah… we'll see about that…", he said rubbing his head.

Even after working with the crazy ex-Invader for almost 15 years (in Foodcourtian years) he still manages to say a few zingers that leave the frycook speechless.

"You remember how packed the restaurant gets during the weekends", Zim cringed at that, "Imagine that but ever more packed! 50 times more, a line so big it reaches out the door and can last miles, a sea of never ending orders, and it doesn't end by the end of the day-It last for 2 decades!" Obviously distressed by the news, Zim started shaking and his eyes became wild.

"N-no, that can't be right… Invader Zim will not submit to 20 years of food work!", he shouted. "I gotta get outta here!", Zim turned to run toward the back door but before he took a step Sizz-lorr grabbed the back of his apron.

"No-you're not! You're staying here. And you're servicing the register for the rest of shift- **NO BREAKS!** ", Sizz-lorr spat the last two words out. Zim was thrown out the kitchen window and landed on the register with a hard bang. Zim got up and adjusted his maroon goggles but was met by a hideous sight.

"Excuse me sir, can I have a jumbofied bag of vort dogs, ehh-uhh, three live plookas, and uh… super size me acid flav soda.", Zim crinkled his face in disgust. It was Eric the blob. He always comes in, orders more food than a whole vortian family could eat, gulps it down without even chewing, leaves his stink everywhere, and he comes back every breakfast, lunch, and dinner-but worst of all he always tries to strike up a conversation with Zim.

"That will be 35.50", Zim droned out.

"Ziiiiim!", the frycook in the kitchen growled. Sizz-lorr always chewed out Zim's rudeness towards customers.

"Er-I mean-That will be 35.50! Would you like that for here or to go?", Zim chirped in false cheeriness. I was a stupid question considering Eric always stays around and eat despite Zim's silent wishes that Eric buzz off and never return.

"For here", the hideous blob answered. "Okiee-dokkie your order will be right up!", the fake smile stung Zim's tar black soul.

"So-uh, how's it been goin'?", again with this blob's chatter mouth.

"Oh, nothing much, just the usual work food stuff!", he waved his hand nonchalantly.

"That's good. You know funny story, but-", as the blob started to talk about his bland day, Zim is silently praying the order will fly out the window any second now. Sizz-lorr's probably taking this long on purpose. He is the fastest Frylord in the galaxy- the ass.

All Zim could do was grin and nod when needed while tapping his fingers impatiently. When the food finally flew to the blob he thanked the cosmos. He hated this job so much, but before he could take a breather an angry, hungry mob swarm the counter. And _now_ Sizz-lorr's incredible skills decided the shine. Freaking ass.

Rush hour lasted throughout the evening and only died down when closing time was near. Zim opened the cash register and began organizing and counting the monies, a task Zim fears the most since Sizz-lorr's ever scrutinizing gaze never leaves Zim and any miscalculations could earn him another beating. When that was done the two split the workload. Sizz-lorr cleans the kitchen, and Zim cleans the front.  
Ugh, the patrons seemed to love making the food service drone's job a living hell. Grafitti, acid spots, and scratches are everywhere. And Zim doesn't want to know what's squirming in the corner.

After a few hours, all his tasks are completed; he tiredly walked to one the booths and sat there waiting for Sizz-lorr. When he finally arrived he carried a huge plate of vort dogs and taquitos with a side of soda. The two ate in silence, which is just fine for both of them.

It left Zim stuck with his thoughts. 20 years… will he even be able to survive that? Will he fail?

"NONSENSE INVADER ZIM HAS SURVIVED FAR WORSE! GIVE ME WHAT YOU GOT, SIZZ-LORR!", Zim shouted at the top of his lung.

"I didn't say anything…", the Frylord was confused by Zim's declaration.

"Oh… WELL IF YOU HAD SAID ANYTHING THEN I AM READY FOR WHAT YOU GOT TO OFFER, FOR I AM ZIIM!"

"HA! I doubt it! I've been working here centuries before you were even a smeet! I earned my place here in Foodcourtia! No one even dares to challenge me! You? Well, from what I've seen you haven't exactly convinced me otherwise…"

" **LIES!** I am the GREAT and POWERFUL Zim! I am an Invader!"

"No, you're not! You're a food service drone who got that in that position because you almost **DESTROYED** our race! You had your chance at glory, but you blew it!", Sizz-lorr was getting irate now. The little idiot is so oblivious about what he'd done, he just wanted to pull his antennas, this little pest is so irritating!

"Alright, alright. I get it. Geez.", Zim took another bite of his vort dog, "No need to yell…", Zim mumbled.

Sizz-lorr knew better than to continue arguing, he learned his lesson years ago that arguing with Zim is as effective as arguing with a wall. After a few deep breaths, he calmed down enough to finish his dinner. He wanted this to be over so he can go back to his own room and not see Zim's incompetent face anymore.

Zim, on the other hand, made it his duty to stick it out this Foodening. He's no coward! He will show Sizz-lorr!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Chapter 2 is done!
> 
> I always had the impression while watching "The Frycook What Came from All That Space" that Zim could've escaped anytime he wanted but didn't because he didn't have any agency until the announcement of OID: II and he only tried escaping after his capture because of his "mission". Without either, he would simply keep working for Sizz-lorr. At least those are my thoughts.
> 
> I don't know how to approach the Foodening other than to skip over most of it. Time warp be damned. I'll figure it out as I write it.  
> Thoughts, ideas, and critiques are welcomed!


	3. ONE OF EVERYTHING

Three days has passed since his little conversation with Sizz-lorr and during that time he had begun mentally preparing himself. He did his work twice as fast as before and took over all of the work in the restaurant. While Sizz-lorr had been suspicious he didn't say anything. It was less work for him.

When the time came, it was deceptively quiet with little people occupying the dining area. But a subtle rumble can be heard from the distance. Zim's eyes slanted, looking fierce with warpaint on his face.

Sizz-lorr meanwhile was finishing up a magazine.

The rumbling grew louder.

"Can't you hear it Sizz-lorr? The noise, the anticipation, the snacking, the **DOOM** …", Zim mumbled to his boss.

"Zim, go to the bathroom and wash your face! I don't want you scaring my customers!", Sizz-lorr rolled up his magazine as if he was going to use it to smack some sense into Zim.

"Fear is good!-in the battlefield fear is your greatest weapon! You mustn't back down because of what is _acceptable_!"

"Nevermind, just go to the kitchen and do your job there", the frustrated Frylord promised himself he isn't going to blow a gasket this foodening, and he sure as hell not going to do it on the _first_ day.

"Just make sure no one sees you"

"Yes, my Fry _ **lord**_!", he shouted then jumped over the window. With the spatula in his hand and a hair-trigger, Zim was prepared.

The rumbling manifested into more than just sound; the entire restaurant vibrated. Zim's mind was on edge, any second now.

"I AM READY! _DO_ YOUR WORST!", Zim howled. The doors slammed open as hundreds of people flood the building.

" **I AM ZIM!** ", Zim released his battle cry into the cosmos. His voice heard light years away.

* * *

Meanwhile on the Massive

"Why do I feel annoyed for some reason?", Tallest Purple asked his red counterpart. His antennas twitched as if it heard something he didn't like.

"I dunno… Just eat a donut or something", Tallest Red replied not taking his eyes off the data pad in his hands.

"Ehh… Don't feel like it."

"Then chuck a service drone out of the airlock", Red offered.

"You there!", Purple pointed to a particularly short service drone with green eyes and slumped back.

"Out of the airlock!", two soldiers came over and grabbed the poor irken by the arm and took him away as he screams for mercy. Minutes passed by in silence.

"Ehh, I still feel annoyed.", Purple shrugged.

"Whatever, Table Head Drone Bob get me another drink!", Red pointed to a table-head. Bob ran to get another drink. He does not want to be like his peer.

"All of the invaders' progress are doing well. No invasions yet, but it's pretty early in OID:II so no surprise there.", Red informed the status of the operation to Purple but Purple have other things in his mind.

"I'm bored. Do you wanna go to Foodcourtia? I'm craving mooshminkies right now."

"No can do. The Foodening already started; we can go after it's done.", Red informed Purple.

"Uhhhg… of course the Foodening started. It always happens when I actually want to go.", Purple was not pleased by this. He started shoving popcorn down his throat.

"Excuse me My Tallest, I have your drink.", Bob tried to be as polite and meek as possible. Red took the drink from the table on his head before dismissing him.

"You know what we should do when we go to Foodcourtia?", Purple asked with his mouth full of popcorn.

"What?"

"Go visit Zim and make his job a living hell!", a wicked smile spread across Purple's face.

"What? No, that wouldn't be nice of us!", Red said softly.

"Ppfhh, Hahaha!", the two Tallests laughed loudly, snorting and chuckling. Red dropped his drink when he grabbed his sides during his laughing fit.

"That was a good one! Ha, ha!"

"Table Head Drone Bob -phffp- I require another -haha- drink!", Red ordered the drone in between bursts of giggling. Bob ran quickly to give his master another drink.

"Incoming transmission: from planet Blorch.", a navigator spoke up.

"Hah, okay, okay, stop, stop. Yeah we're definitely going to Foodcourtia.", Red wiped tears from his eyes.

"Okay. Accept the call.", Purple gave the go-ahead to a navigator.

During The Foodening the Empire experienced no complications, conquering Blorch and Vort during this time. Operation Impending Doom: II was going according to plan. For now at least.

  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Take it like a champ, Zim. I'm being unusually productive right now, let's hope it last.
> 
> And the Tallests meddle where they ought not meddle. Finally introduced the Tallest in this, wonder how they will fair in the story( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> As always, thoughts, ideas, and critiques are welcomed!


	4. SLEEPING ON A FULL BELLY

20 Foodcourtian Years Later.

* * *

 

It's done. The Foodening has finally ended. Zim won.

"Laugh all you want, Sizz-lorr! The Zim has won!", Zim gloated before knocking out on the kitchen floor.

Sizz-lorr for his part was too tired to respond. He pressed a button on the register screen that changed the sign on the front door to read "Closed". He took one last look at his restaurant, which as expected was trashed beyond belief, before retiring for the night. Tomorrow was going to be something.

The next morning Zim was awakened when the Frylord slammed the door. He woke up with a jolt and griping his dinky spatula as a makeshift weapon. When he saw who it was he dropped the utensil and saluted.

"Greetings, my Frylord!", Zim addressed him with respect.

"I must admit you held up better than I thought you would.", that took Zim by surprise it wasn't often he gives compliments, or ever now that he thought about it.

"Well, of course, my greasiness. Zim is truly Amaz _ii_ ii _ii_ ng.", he boasted.

"About that reward-"

"Did I get the robot death monkey?!"

"No!"

"No fair you said you'll give me that!"

"I said I'll think about. And I did. I thought about it and I thought it was stupid and so the answer is no!", Zim whined at that answer.

"Come outside and see.", Sizz-lorr motioned Zim out of the kitchen where he saw two irkens standing wearing Shloogorgh's uniform with the goggles hanging from their neck. One was much taller than Zim with orangy-pink eyes and the other was a couple inches taller than Zim with large puffy cheeks and deep maroon eyes.

"Oh boy! Slaves! I always wanted slaves!", Zim's eyes glowed at his "gift".

"They're not slaves!", Sizz-lorr hit the back of Zim's head with his fist making him hit the floor face first.

"These are your new co-worker. I hired them to keep the workload low. You are to treat them with the utmost respect, do you understand me.", the Frylord warned while pointing at Zim.

"Introduce yourselves!", he ordered the two newbies.

"My name is Gashloog! Reporting for duty!", the taller of the two said enthusiastically.

"I'm Qor, ready when you need it.", the one with the puffy cheeks and permanent frown said blandly.

"Gashloog, Qor, you are to clean this place up! I want it sparkling when you guys get done with it! And Zim, take the day off.", before Zim could ask jailer if his pak blew a fuse during The Foodening he left without another word.

Zim rose from the floor and scurried to his room, which is just a closet where supplies and junk goes. He ripped off his uniform and goggles and left them on the floor, before jumping on his lumpy, hard bed. He was drained of any energy and wanted to sleep some more.

* * *

Meanwhile on Earth

"I'm telling you Gaz we're in trouble! I heard it with my own ears! Aliens are planning an invasion and I'm on to them!", Dib tried to convince Gaz who wasn't having any of it.

"Whatever, maybe they'll do us a favor and blow this place up.", she shot her brother down. She walked away while playing her game.

"Argh! You're no help!", he threw his arms up in frustration. He had been telling everybody about the transmission he picked up over a year ago, but like always no one believed him. Every night since that night he's been listening in on his modified radio. Most were broken, barely audible feed, but from what he can tell the aliens had already conquered several planets and are spreading their territory. Soon Earth will be next he just knows it! He sprinted to his room where he brought out his device and tinkered with it.

"You know what! If no one's going to help me then I can do this myself! I'll be waiting for you, aliens! If it takes me weeks-months- _years_ I will be ready to expose you!", Dib declared.

"Shut up!", Gaz yelled from her room.

Dib glared at the direction the voice came from.

"Son! Come over here!", Professor Membrane called his son from the kitchen.

"Coming!", Dib yelled back quickly hiding the radio in a secret chamber under his bed. Dib hurried to the kitchen not wanting to keep his dad waiting. When he reached his destination he was meet with a curious sight. Next to his father were four other men who wore medical uniforms with smiley badges.

"Son, this is for your own good. This insanity talk is eating you alive and I want to put an end to it.", Dib caught on pretty quickly what all of this is.

"N-no, NO! I'm not crazy and I'm not dumb! I'm telling you that I know more than any of _you_ do! I've observed it myself! And I know for a fact that Bigfoot is real **!** "

"No… this is actually about the alien transmissions- But also that!", Professor Membrane pointed out.

"Well, you know what you won't take me! Not alive that is!", Dib booked it out of the kitchen managing to dodge the four men grabbing at him. He crashes through the window but his eyes were blinded by a bright light. He saw a white van and a group of workers hoping out of that van. When he got up to run toward the bushes someone grabbed his trench coat making him fall over. The group dogpiled him but he fought back viciously, but when Dib felt a prick on his neck his body gave in. He looked behind him where he saw a lady with a syringe. Damn they got him.

As his world began to get loopy he saw his father stand in front of him.

"I'm sorry son, but it's for your own good.", slurred words reached his ear. His vision faded to white.

  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: See ya Dib! Have fun at the funny farm!
> 
> I've been trying to figure this out for years now but I think I got it. Looking at the show's timeline it seems that 40 Foodcourtian years is equivalent to 1½- 2 Earthen years (remembering the 6 months it took Zim to get to Earth). When Sizz-lorr brought back Zim it was at the very end of the leisure period so 20y on top of the Foodening that already happened. I dunno. Correct me if I'm wrong.  
> As for Gashloog and Qor, they are actual characters from "The Frycook What Came from All That Space". Qor was never named so I gave him a name. He sorta disappears halfway through that episode for some reason. The two will have a bigger role as supporting characters later in the story.


	5. DINE THEN DASH

Zim woke up later in the day feeling revived; however he still would need a lot more sleep to recover from The Foodening. The tiny irken checked the time on his pak and saw it was the afternoon he has time to himself. He flipped his homemade mattress and dug through snack wrappers, blueprints, and tools before finding what he wanted. It was an unfinished particle blaster. It was still in the alpha stage and is very unstable but with the right adjustment, it can be a truly devastating weapon. He admired how it was coming along, but it still need more work and for that, he would need more materials.

He wandered out of the closet in search of supplies. He needed more metal, glass, wires, and a power source that won't explode or fizzle out. He picked up random objects, making sure it's nothing Sizz-lorr will notice or care about.

Gashloog and Qor were still busy cleaning and paid no attention to Zim when he entered the dining area. He ignored the two workers in return, looking for any useful trash when he found none he trekked outside Shloogorgh's. He simply walked out the front door with the staff none the wiser. On the first day of Zim's job Sizz-lorr told him never to leave the restaurant without permission ever, but obviously, that warning was lost on Zim who took it as a suggestion.

Foodcourtia, for the most part, was trashed beyond belief. The whole planet looked barren with the only people around being workers fixing and cleaning their own establishment. Some businesses were demolished, while others stood their ground. However, Zim doesn't care about that. All he cares about are the trash cans lining the street. For the next 5 hours, Zim looted several dumpsters and restaurants taking what he can. In all of the hungry frenzy, many patrons left monies, which he happily snagged off the floor as well. Zim tried to pack as much as he could in his pak, but it looks like it was getting to its' limits. All he needed now was a power source.

The ex-invader decided to call it quits for today when he noticed that it was getting dark, but he ran into a bit of a problem… he was lost. Too distracted with collecting, Zim didn't notice where he was going and ended up in a part of Foodcourtia he was unfamiliar with.

He had no way to know where to go by himself, GPS had been disabled in his pak, as it was the norm for all irkens under banishment. He needed to get back to Shloogorgh's pronto or else he'll be answering to Sizz-lorr's fists. Before he could panic he swallowed the fear back down. No. He'll find his way back before night time. He was a trained invader after all!

"You there!", Zim pointed to a yellow crystal being in the middle of repairing a window, "Tell me where Shloogorgh's is located!", he demanded.

"Oh", she stopped what she was doing, "I think it's closed, besides their food is terrible."

"No! Zim asked for directions not-!"

"If you go down the avenue and take a left down Mochi street you'll find a place that makes really great moshminkies, it's much better than Shloogorgh's.", she pointed to the direction.

"Okay… but where is Shloogorgh's?" Zim asked irritated.

"Shloogorgh's at the other side of town. But I won't advise you going there."

"And why is that?", his antennae perked up.

"Because they're awful."

" _WHERE IS SHLOOGORGH'S FLAVOR MONSTER?!"_

"Oh… I don't know. But their food is gross. Don't go to Shloogorgh's, if you want actual good plookas-"

"'Kay, thanks, bye", he stomped away and grind his teeth. Zim searched for anyone else he could ask direction, but no one was in sight. He reluctantly headed the direction the stupid crystal wanted him to go. When he found the place the girl told him about it was nearing sunset and dark streets were lit by the billboards and signs floating above the planet. He was surprised to find just how intact it was for such a tiny place; it wasn't completely unscathed, the sign's lights were broken, the walls dirty, and the door looked like a push would knock it over, but it was still better looking than most. Another thing that he noticed was the open sign hanging on the window. It was the only opened restaurant he found all day. He walked in trying to be careful but the door fell down despite his efforts.

"Um…", Zim pointed to the broken door "That wasn't me". The staff of vortians quickly went to their stations, one went to the register, another to the kitchen, and two others were preparing a table.

"Hello, welcome to Chum's, My name is Lou. How may I help you?", a preppy vort asked.

" **I'M LOST AND I NEED YOU TO TAKE ME TO SHOOLGARH'S RIGHT** _ **NOW**_ **!** "

"Oh, no! That's horri- wait you have monies right?", Zim nodded.

"That's horrible! Poor thing. Don't worry. Here take a seat, order something, and we'll help you in a bit.", Zim took a seat at where the two busboys cleaned and he was struck by how comfortable the seat was. He almost wanted to go to sleep on it actually. He was also intrigued by the design of the building; It was very vortian by design, lots of indigos, mauves, and taupes in the color scheme, with straight, precise lines. It looked completely different from the irken-style construction of Shoolgarh's and he liked it a lot. He skimmed through the menu and saw that every item was pricey but nothing the spare change he found could cover. Lou came to his table with a notepad in his hand.

"I will be your server for today. How would you like to start off?", Lou's said merrily.

"Ohhh! The niki-zest juice look amazing! I'll have that!"

"Would you be ordering appetizers?"

"No. I'm busy and-"

"Did I mention that we have special today? Buy an appetizer and it comes with 2 free cookies"

"No, you did not. _ZIM SHALL HAVE THE APPETIZERS!_ I want the mini-mushnood"

"Okie-doki! Your food should be coming soon!", Lou chirped then when into the kitchen. Zim leaned back on the chair. This was really nice but he can't help but think he'd forgotten something. He came to this place to ask for something but when the waiter suggested free cookies it slipped from his mind. Why was he in a hurry again? Oh well, it'll come to him eventually.

* * *

Sizz-lorr inspected Gashloog and Qor's work and he must say he's impressed. The whole place looked good as new. The place's exterior is still a mess but that can wait until tomorrow. In the meantime, the cash made during the Foodening still has to be counted. After scrutinizing every part of the interior he went outside to examine the damage. He sighed knowing that the outside was going to be where the real challenge is. The mascot looked very worn with a missing eye and the sign had words missing. The walls were covered in graffiti, including one particularly nasty one aimed at Sizz-lorr telling him where he can shove his spatula.

After assessing the outside he decided it'll be best if Qor and Gashloog were assigned with cleaning and repainting while he and Zim will do the repairs. Speaking of Zim, where is he? He knew he gave him the day off but it was still weird for him not to be active. He would expect him to be bugging him about letting him call the Tallests or snacking in the kitchen. It was Zim's first Foodening, so maybe he shouldn't be surprised that Zim isn't being annoying today. He still must be sleeping it off. He'll check on him later tonight. After all, an unsupervised Zim can only lead to bad things.

* * *

The meal was the most delicious thing Zim had eaten since, well, ever. Lou came back with a slice of layered super sugar cake and a paper pamphlet in his hand.

"Here you go, sir! And here's the map to the city. I hope you find your stay enjoyable and remember to tell all your friends about us.", the vortian waiter said sweetly.

"I'll come back shortly with your check.", the server exited the dining area once more.

Zim reviewed the pamphlet while he ate his cake. He flipped through it seeing some amazing restaurants and found that the back of the booklet had a map of the area. Zim saw Shloogorgh's logo at the edge of the map and something clicked in Zim's head.

"I NEED TO GET BACK!", he quickly ate the rest of his cake and bolted off just as the server came in with the check. The cheery expression the server had on his face up until now faded instantly, and in its' place was an intense scowl.

"We have a dine and dasher. Get him.", the pissed off server ordered two bigger vortians. The two armed themselves with electric nets and laser spears and took chase.

Zim sprinted through the city knocking over garbage cans and people. With the map in his hands, he followed the directions as best he could but now that it was dusk it was hard to read even with ocular implants. A blast caught him off guard and blew him into a street post. It burned his lower back and it was very painful, but Zim manages to pick himself up and keep running. Thankfully the map was not damaged from the attack. Zim barely dodged another blast aimed at his legs. He turned a corner but was tackled by one of the workers.

The attacker was on top using his spear to choke him. Zim struggled but managed to kick him away. Zim didn't want to to do this, but he must. He activated the pak leg and some of Zim's supplies fell. When he lifted off the ground he missed a net meant for him, but it caught the other pursuer zapping him instead.

"Sorry!", he yelled to his partner.

"Don't just stand there! He's getting away!"

Without a crowd, Zim couldn't hide nor could he call a taxi. He would have to go across town by foot and try not to get caught. Both were firing at him, even with his spider legs the two were still on him. Zim never thought Vortians were anything but scientists and cowardly pacifists, but the way the two kept up and fought him made him think differently.

It was already nighttime. Zim climbed up buildings and weaved through the city trying to lose them, but it isn't working. According to the map, he was close to the restaurant. A lucky shot to one of the spider legs put Zim off balance but it was enough for one of them to grapple Zim. The attacker used the spear to slash the irken across the face, but Zim slammed him against the nearby wall and grabbed the spear out of the vortian's hands. With the weapon now his, he blasted the other attacker. He climbed over a car park building with the three functional legs in his pak, that was when he realized that Sloogorgh was next door right below him. Zim smirked.

"Victory for Zim!", a net trapped him and shocked him after he made the statement. He turned and saw that the two were dragging him away. Zim used the spear to shoot at them. The mix of laser and electricity caused an explosion.

The three fell on top of the Shloogorgh's mascot, quick on his feet Zim grabbed the net on him and used it against his pursuers and tied it to the neon sign. He set the net's power level to high before leaving; the two screamed as electricity flowed through them. Inside the restaurant, the lights were flickering. Sizz-lorr groaned. Gashloog, Qor, and Sizz-lorr were in the dining area eating their dinner when it was happening.

"Don't mind that. The service drone likes to play around with the electricals. Stuff like this happens", the Frylord assured his crew.

"Zim! Stop it!", a moment passed by but the lights continued to flare. Sizz-lorr was getting angry.

"Zim if the electric bill goes up again because of you then you'll be on toilet duty for the next month!", he yelled. Nothing happened. Now he's angry. Sizz-lorr stomped his way to the closet.

On the roof, the vortian continued to get electrocuted until the spear held by one of them overheated and exploded. The irken jumped off the building, stolen spear in hand, and landed outside the back door and quickly got in.

Zim slammed the door close before barricading it with a mop. Sizz-lorr was a few steps outside the door; as he was about to open it, a loud crash ripped through the building, followed by Gashloog's panicked yelp. He ran as fast as his bulky body would allow to where the crash happened and his eyes widen at what he saw. He was at a loss for words.

The roof was caved in and parts of the mascot were crushed and burning with two vortians in the middle of the wreckage. A day's worth of work completely gone. The Frylord's blood was boiling like grease.

"What. Happened. Herrrrrrrre...", the large irken hissed out. The two intruders shivered knowing they just enraged one of the most powerful and fearsome Frylords in the planet. He grabbed the two aliens by the neck the two felt like they were going to pass out by how tight Sizz-lorr's grip was.

"Do you have anything to say for yourselves?", his tone deathly low.

"We were only trying to capture a dine and dasher, Frylord Sizz-lorr! We didn't mean to ruin your wonderful establishment!", one of them tried to explain.

"Yeah! We're sorry! Please let us go!", the other pleaded between wheezes.

"Absolutely not! Not without retribution…", his hands tighten even more.

In the closet, the banished irken let out a sigh of relief. A rumble ensued outside punctuated by screaming and begging. Zim took out all of the day's findings from his pak, including the laser spear. He was home and the best part was he can go back to building his weapon. Zim spent the night extracting the power source from the spear and continuing his project. When dawn arrived Zim was given trash duty. He had several loads with him and it felt like his back was breaking from the weight. He opened the dumpster and he was surprised to find the two vortians there, bruised and bloody from the beating given by Sizz-lorr.

"Oh, that's right! I forgot!", Zim dug his hand into his pocket pulling out several bills that easily covered for the meal including a tip and threw it at the two. "Here you go".

They glared at him and side-eyed each other in a silent agreement to give the stupid irken a taste of his own medicine, but before they could jump him Zim threw the heavy load in the dumpster with them and shut the lid. He skipped away happily humming the jingle to Shloogorgh's and left the two trapped in the dumpster.

  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I swear the number of times I misspelled "Shloogorgh's". :/  
> I really hated writing the chase scene because I keep comparing it to the chase scene from the Foodcourtia episode. Hugh.  
> I wanted Zim to be out of the restaurant without Sizz-lorr knowing and write Foodcourtia in an idle period where businesses are rebuilding, but I didn't know how. So I made a chapter about dine and dashers.


	6. CLEANING UP THE DISHES

A week has passed since the whole building almost collapsing incident happened and Shloogorgh's is finally opened for business again. Sizz-lorr was still pissed that his competitors opened their doors days before him. It was money that he's not getting, but now that everything is fixed and ready they can finally keep up. Sizz-lorr didn't fight his way in the position of one of Foodcourtia's finest's Frylords just to crash and burn because of an accident.

"Zim! Gashloog! Qor!", the three lined up before him.

"Excellent. Before we opened I decided to do something different this time around."

"Are we turning the dining area into a gladiator pit?", Zim chimed in.

"I'm ignoring that comment. Now, I've been thinking that the uniforms looking a little drab.", he pulled out a big hat with a red "S" on it. "This is going to be part of the new dress code for now on". He handed each one of his crew a hat.

"Gashloog you take the cash register, Qor you're in charge of the kitchen, and Zim... ", he gave Zim a mop, "cleaning duties", Zim whined at that. He hated that job the most.

"Dismissed!", the three workers went to their stations.

Sizz-lorr opened the door and the whole restaurant was flooded with people. Before long customers were being their usual destructive selves and lucky Zim had to take care of it. By the end of his shift, he was more than happy to take Gashloog's place. But Zim was curious to know why the patrons stopped causing random messes when Gashloog was on cleaning duty. He cheerfully cleaned the restaurant, while chatting with the customers, and some even apologize to him when they spilled something! That's not fair! They usually laugh at his face and dump the rest on the floor for good measures. The front door bell rang and Zim cringed at who it was that came in. It was that blob, Eric.

"Hey, there!", the disgusting ball of flesh greeted Zim. Zim forced himself to smile.

"Welcome to Shl _oogor_ gh's, I am **Z** _ **iii**_ **m**! May I take your order.", Zim said the rehearsed line, albeit in his own special way that was unique to him.

"Can I have… uhh Rat-rutburger, and uh, extra-sized french fries, and two super size me acid flav sodas, please.", Zim bit back any sly words he wanted to say, yep he was still as vile as ever. Maybe even more so after the Foodening.

"That will be 30.45! Do you want to eat here or to go!", Zim's smile was obviously fake but it didn't seem to faze Eric. He just handed his money to Zim with a grin.

"Thank you. You know I was getting worried this place will never open. It'll be very sad if it closed down. I like your hat. That's a nice hat.", Zim was about to snap at him, Sizz-lorr's punches be damned, but before he can say a word the tray hovered out of the kitchen.

"THANKSBYEHAVEAGOODDAY", he interrupted Eric rudely. Sizz-lorr glared at Zim with disapproval but didn't make it vocal, something Zim picked up. The cranky Frylord has no qualms about voicing his opinions about Zim's work ethics. The irken was practically 50% criticism, 40% seething hatred, and 10% french fry grease.

"What are you staring at Zim?", Sizz-lorr sneered.

"Oh, nothing just doing my work! Doodoodoodeedoo~!", he pretended to work even though he had no customers at the moment. The huge irken stare intensified seeing through the blatant lie but didn't call him out on it. He left it as that and left. Zim pulled Gashloog close to him making sure the Frylord wasn't eavesdropping.

"Do you know what's wrong with Sizz-lorr?", Zim whispered to Gashloog.

"Huh?"

"Sizz-lorr! He hasn't insulted me all day!"

"Wow, that is pretty weird. On a good day he usually insults you at least 5 times a day.", he was very puzzled by this.

"Exactly! Something has happened to our Frylord and we need to do something about!", fright was clear in his voice.

"Why? He's better like this.", he asked the freaked out ex-invader.

"... Yeah, you're right. Nevermind, let's not fix it.", Zim dropped the topic.

"Well, Zim. It's been nice talking to you but it's my break right now. Bye, bye!", Gashloog took off his uniform before skipping away and hum to himself. Zim watched on, wondering why his fellow co-workers were granted outside access. I was time to change positions yet again. Zim took over the kitchen, while Qor took to the register.

When he walked into the kitchen he saw Sizz-lorr making slydoodydoo. Zim ignored him as he went to the other side of the kitchen and began to make vort dogs. He never got the hang of the sausage machine and this time was no different. He turned the machine on it and the meat shot out of the nozzle; Zim panicked but when he tried to turn it off his apron got in one of the moving parts. Zim desperately tried to yank his apron free but it proved to be useless. The pulling stopped and he tugged his apron free but fell on the floor. He looked up and saw the tall irken leaning over him with the plug to the machine in his hand silently condemning him.

"Get back to work.", Zim quickly got to his feet to clean up the mess he made. Sizz-lorr walked out of the room without another word. Okay, now Zim's freaked out.

The Frylord stood next to the counter watching the restaurant closely. There was barely anyone here but it'll change when it's food rush hour. He noticed Qor writing something in a datapad. Normally he forbids his employees from doing such things, but since it was a slow day and Zim had already done something stupider, he decided to let it go.

"So, uh, everything okay? Not having problems, right?", the Frylord said.

"No, if I had any I would have told you earlier.", his tone was dismissive. Qor was never a talker. Unlike Gashloog who oozes charisma, Qor had a very dry personality. He talks only when needed and right now he feels now it's not needed.

"Oh, yeah I guess so. Say what are you doing.", Sizz-lorr pointed to the datapad.

"I'm sorry, my Frylord, I forgot about the rules.", Qor tucked his datapad in his pocket.

"No, no you're not in trouble, it just- you know just forget it.", a ding was heard signaling an incoming customer. Sizz-lorr got out of the customer's way but still stay close by the counter.

"Welcome to Shloogorh's. My name is Qor. May I take your order.", Qor's delivery of the line was bland and lacked any of the quirks that Gashloog and Zim had.

"Say it with bit more enthusiasm.", his boss urged.

"Welcome to Shloogorgh's. My name is Qor. May I take your order.", he said a bit louder but still felt dead.

"Better I guess, but it can use a little work"

"No, we're doing this until I get it right.", Qor said adamantly.

"Can I just place my order, please? I have to go back to work and-"

"Welcome to Shloogorgh's! My name Qor! May I take your order?", Qor said in an overly preppy voice. It sounded so wrong coming out of his mouth. It was creepy.

"Umm… nevermind I going somewhere else.", the customer walked out.

Sizz-lorr sighed. The doorbell rang again, and this time, it was Gashloog returning from his break.

"Hey.", greeted Sizz-lorr.

"Hello, my Frylord!", Gashloog saluted his superior. He got back into his uniform and took over Qor's shift. The straight-faced irken walked over to an empty seat and pulled out his datapad and went back to writing in it. Sizz-lorr came back into the kitchen; Zim flinched when he sensed his boss coming in. The overall change in mood has put the service done's nerves on edge. In his years' training as an elite, he knew better than to take it at face value. Somethings up and Zim wants to know. However, an all too familiar rumble is heard in the distance breaking the defective irken's thoughts. Rush hour is here. With over 30 years experience under Zim's belt food rush hours isn't as bad as they used to be but they were still tiresome. Zim is curious on how the new guys will handle the food rush, hopefully, they'll crash and burn.

But unfortunately for Zim that wasn't how it went down. Qor and Gashloog performed excellently in their first food rush, surpassing all expectations. The entire Shloogorgh's crew worked hard into the night until it was closing time and the crowd dispersed. The restaurant was left a mess again, but with the workforce of 4, it didn't take as long as it used to be to clean up. In no time the place was spotless once more and the crew gathered around a table.

"What's with the long face, Zim?", Gashloog asked the sulking irken. Zim ignored his co-worker and took a loud sip from his soda.

"Don't want to talk about it, huh… What about you, Qor?", Qor was looking out the huge window that took a good portion of the ceiling.

"Fine.", came a quick response. He didn't take his attention away from the window.

Sizz-lorr came out of the kitchen with a smorgasbord of food in his hands. He squeezed himself in the booth squishing Zim to the wall, the small alien struggled for a bit before making himself comfortable again. The four ate their dinner in peace. Gashloog and Sizz-lorr were having a friendly conversation, Qor continued to look out the window and occasionally wrote something in his datepad, and Zim was content with simmering in envy and paranoia.

"Zim!", the Frylord barked.

"Yes, my Frylord!", Zim turned to face his boss directly.

"I want you to be up extra early tomorrow. 2 hours before opening to be exact. You understand me?"

"Yes sir!", Zim complied. Whatever he has planned for him, he is not looking forward to it.

  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: If you're wondering Qor's name is pronounced "Core". Like the watercolor brand that I may or may not have stolen the name from.
> 
> This is more of a filler chapter than anything meant to break in the characters of Gashloog and Qor and give you a glimpse of who they are because the last 2 chapter sure as hell didn't do that. But I promise you the next chapter will get the ball rolling. ((thisissuchaboringchapterimsosorry))
> 
> Thank you so much for all the reviews sent my way, and as always, thoughts, ideas, and critiques are welcomed! :D


	7. CHUGGING SUNSET MARTINIS

Zim's nerves have been on edge the entire night, not even watching the TV eased him. Every hour he checked the time before going back to what he was doing. He has no idea what was up with the frycook or what his deal was. Zim was sure he didn't do anything bad, at least to his knowledge. With him, it's entirely possible.

The food drone's mind swarmed with possibilities and fears. What if Sizz-lorr found he was more trouble than he is worth, what if he was going to get rid of him? Was Gashloog and Qor here to be his replacement? How _dare_ he! He'll show him! A plan formed in his mind, a smirk spread across his face and a wicked cackle came out of his mouth. Yes, he'll be prepared for Sizz-lorr tomorrow, he won't even know what hit him. The prideful ex-invader went to work for his latest scheme immediately, he didn't have much time until morning.

Morning came and Zim marched to the front of the restaurant. He came early but that's okay, it just gives him time to be prepared. He quickly checked his hidden pocket and there it was; the drill blasters he made an hour ago. The drill blasters were tiny bombs meant to dig into an opponent's skin and explode. Zim doubts that such small explosives could cause much harm to the giant irken but it can possibly stun him and give him an opening. And that was good enough for Zim. He stared intently at the door waiting for a certain someone to come out.

At last Sizz-lorr came. Except he isn't wearing his Frylord uniform. What he wore instead was a tacky, short-sleeved violet shirt, black pants, and sleek purple boots. He didn't wear an apron or his hat, the vents on his shoulders were gone, and he was wearing gloves rather than oven mitts. He was also holding suitcases. His antennas raised in confusion.

"What's going on?"

"I'm going on vacation. And I'm leaving you in charge.",

"Oh, of course, you are- **Hey what's over there!** ", Zim pointed the opposite direction, Sizz-lorr looked away and Zim took the opportunity to throw the drill blasters in the trash next to him. When the Frylord saw nothing he turned back to Zim and scowl.

"Quit playing around Zim. I don't want to come back and find this place in ruins. _DO YOU HEAR ME?_ "

"Of course, my Frylord!", Zim straightened and saluted.

"Good. Now before I leave I want to you show you around the place. Teach you everything there is about running Shloogorgh's properly.", the hefty irken set his suitcases on a table.

"Let's go, we haven't got all day.", Sizz-lorr tugged Zim's collar along with him and Zim found himself being dragged through most of the lesson, and it was very tedious and boring. He can feel his brain rotting every time the Frylord goes into detail about the restaurant issued voot, or the finances, or his routine for now until Sizz-lorr's arrival. It felt like hours but in reality it just under two.

Gashloog and Qor walked out of the kitchen ready for the day and lined up in front of Sizz-lorr and Zim.

"Crew, I'm taking a vacation, Zim will be in charge while I'm gone.", he informed his crew.

"You see this right here?", Sizz-lorr took out a datapad from his shirt pocket. He turned it on showing analytics and graphs, above it, the title read "Shloogorgh's Flavor Monster Productivity".

"This tracks the restaurant's gross income as well as any deductions of profit. Don't think you have free reign of the building, I'm still Frylord and I have the final say.", a yellow taxi cab stopped in front of Shloogorgh's. The Frylord tossed his luggage in the back and climbed into the cab, before closing it he yelled at Zim.

"And you're still not turning this place into a gladiator pit!", the door slammed and the cab flew off fast. Zim whined again. There go his renovation plans.

"What do you wants us to do, Zim?", Gashloog asked his co-worker.

"Huhh…? I'll take the kitchen... Nnnn, you cash register, and Qor you're on cleaning duties!"

"Yes, my substitute Frylord!", Gashloog jumped over the counter.

"Whatever you say, Zim.", the chubby cheeked irken saunter off towards the storage closet. Outside of the building, a line was forming; when Zim opened the door the restaurant filled with people. Zim was sure he can do this. He's _Zim_ after all.

Meanwhile light years away, Sizz-lorr stared out of the window and watched Foodcourtia become nothing more than a dot in the sky. A bit of worry washed over the frycook but he ignored it for the most part. He's not going to sweat about it during vacation, he has ways of monitoring the restaurant if anything happens. He leaned back against the cab seat and sat in silence until he arrived at his destination. It was the planet Vacationia, the #1 vacation spot in the universe. Despite Zim's many, many shortcomings he was certain nothing too bad will happen.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I wasn't planning on having Sizz-lorr go on vacation so early in the story, but it's already 7 chapters in and I can't think of any more anecdotes surrounding Sizz-lorr and Zim together in Foodcourtia. So early vacation for the grumpy butt. (and don't worry he's not out of the plot for good)


	8. SUPERSIZE MY MEAL

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: In the original fic for Fanfiction.net this was a 3-part chapter but for here I decided to combine them into one. I tried to make it seamless for AO3 but please forgive me if the pacing is off.

It was unbelievable how not-a-catastrophe the opening was. No issues had risen, the work wasn't any worse, and it was easier than he expected. He had this in the bag; it'll be as if Sizz-lorr never left.

"You know this isn't as bad as I thought it would be", Zim boasted.

"I dunno, Zim. I mean it's only been 30 minutes since our boss left.", Gashloog reminded the cocky irken.

"YOU DARE CHALLENGE THE **AUTHORITY** OF _ZIM!?_ ", he accused.

"No, no. It's just that it seems like you're getting ahead of yourself.", the talker irken assured the shorter one, but he looked like isn't having any of it. Before Zim could bite back a retort Qor interrupted him.

"Uh, hey Zim would you mind explaining why the garbage can explode on me?", Qor said with anger hinting his voice. His face was blackened with soot, goggles broken into pieces and his uniform burned.

"I have no idea what you're talking about", Zim's claim wasn't convincing.

"Yeah sure, doubt it.", he walked to the bathroom with a new set of uniform in his hands.

"Oh, so you're **doubting** Zim?", Qor ignored him and continued walking.

"Couldn't handle it huh, huh, huh?", Zim shouted.

"Zim I-"

" _HUH?_ Oh, Qor maybe one day you'll learn how to hold your own but _**not today**_.", he waved his fist. Gashloog stared at him for a bit before going back to what he was about to say.

"Zim I want to know when Sizz-lorr is coming back. Did he say anything about when he's returning?"

"Huuuuuuuh… Before-after the Foodening? I dunno he said something about building up vacation days since the war thing."

"Not helpful at all, but thank you. Thank you for that.", Gashloog grumbled.

"No problem.", Zim puffed out his chest in pride unaware of the sarcastic tone.

For the rest of the day, Shloogorgh's remained packed and without Sizz-lorr breathing down their (Zim's) back the crew was more relaxed and it still hasn't devolved into a disaster. The building was still in one piece so that had to count as something. Yeah sure Zim already yelled at Eric, caused at least 5 messes, and severely hurt himself in the kitchen all before noon, but other than that everything was going well. However, Zim noticed something odd. During the day he saw two irkens were seen casing out the building and it was suspicious they never ordered anything. He wasn't able to get a good enough look at them to pick out any distinguishing features with the crowd of people surrounding them. Whether or not they had ill intent is unsure but Zim's not worried. If they do become a problem he's more than capable of dealing with it.

But that had Zim thinking. Shoolgoroh's securities were shoddy at best, with no alarms, weapons, or even locks. How is Zim expected to take care of the place when Sizz-lorr left it in such a vulnerable state!? Gears turn in the defective's head as he thought of ways to improve security. Even though Sizz-lorr told him to leave the place be he might change his mind once he sees the improvements. His Frylord would be so happy when he comes back!

When closing time came he called his workers to the front. It was obvious they didn't care with the way they slouch and weren't giving their full attention to Zim. Qor was more blatant about his disinterest than Gashloog as he played with the pin on his apron throughout the meeting. It was a display that would never have been tolerated with Sizz-lorr, but with Zim their bad behavior went unaddressed.

"Gashloog, Qor I'll be taking some time off. I've been thinking this place in in need of some upgrading"

"Oh no.", Qor muttered.

"I need you two to take over my shifts. With my _geeeeniuuus_ it shouldn't take long. You may go back to your duties.", he waved his hands in a shooing gesture before marching away from the dining area.

"Hey Gashloog, do you think Sizz-lorr hit his head or something before he left?", the chubby faced worker asked his skinnier counterpart. He took off the pin and played around with it until it squirted grease on the floor. His coworker grimaced at the mess he made.

"There was that time where Zim dropped 3 tons of steel rebar on him during reconstruction. Why?", he grabbed the mop and went to work; while Qor doesn't care to go back to work, he on other hand doesn't want to be fired.

"Because honestly, Sizz-lorr is nuts to put Zim of all people in charge of the restaurant.", Qor grabbed the mob out of Gashloog's hands. The taller irken went to one of the tables and began to wipe it down with a wet rag.

"I hate to speak so poorly of our Frylord, but… I kinda agree.", the taller of the two stopped his cleaning and mused about the situation they were in. They were at the mercy of one of the smallest and most incompetent invader the Irken Empire had ever seen, one who destroyed Irk in a day, and this was the maniac their Frylord put in charge. They were screwed. But he was going to stick it out anyways. He really doesn't want to lose his job.

Meanwhile, in the storage room, Zim was preparing his schematic for the building working and reworking his designs. The scraps from Zim's scavenger hunt were in a pile on the chair and will serve him well in completing his task. He needed this to be perfect. He can't accept mediocrity.

Throughout the night he slaved away until day breaks.

* * *

 

Zim snored away on his makeshift desk, the plans from last night forgotten. He had his head balanced on his hands as a dribble of drool to spill from the corner of his mouth. His body leaned forward and he fell and smack his face on the desk and Zim was up in an instant.

"Reporting for duty, Sir!", the little defect paused when he realized he was at the restaurant, not Devastis. How long had he been sleeping? He scratched his cheek but found a paper stuck to his face when he peeled it off and read it he remembered. HE HAD WORK TO DO!

Zim barged out of the closet doors spooking Gashloog and causing him to drop the dishes he had in his hands.

"Gashloog, tell me what time it is!", he ordered.

"12:20 in the afternoon, sir.", the tall irken said hesitantly. Zim looked wild, his eyes had dark bags, he wasn't in uniform, and his antenna was very crooked. Overall he looked frazzled and crazed.

"Thank you, my fellow irken. You can go back doing whatever you were doing.", Zim hurriedly walked across the dining area ignoring everyone there.

"Hey there! Nice day we're having, huh.", Eric greeted the grumpy alien. Zim only spared the smelly blob a heated glance before passing him.

"Well, nice talking to you!", Eric went back to his family sized meal which he ate in one humongous bite.

Outside he immediately went to work on fixing cameras that will cover every side of the restaurant inside and out, and replaced the dinky locks with military grade ones, easy enough for the former scientist. That process took about 5 hours give or take. Zim decided to call it a day when he realized the sun was setting. Rush hour is coming soon and his crew would need him, but when he walked in the disgusting yellow alien of unknown origin greeted him again.

"Hello there! How's it been?", Zim ignored him again passing him without looking in his direction.

"I noticed you were putting up a security system out there.", Zim antenna's shot up and he immediately back up to Eric's table.

"Oh, so you've been spying on me? Tell me is this you plan all along? You know I will say you almost tricked me. Almost.", his eyes squinted with suspicion.

"Huh?"

"Don't play me a fool! Tell me are you a spy? Otherwise, how would you know I'm putting up a security system? Hmm.", Zim leaned closer in an attempt to appear intimidating.

"Because I saw you working outside before I came inside?", his voice unsure and confused.

"Acceptable answer. For now at least.", he hissed.

" Anyways, I install security systems for a living. I just found it interesting that you're installing the Setch-Ilt ver. 3. You know that version has been obsolete for a while now, right? It has a tendency to malfunction in terrible, unforeseen ways.", Zim's antennas flatten with irritation and growled.

"Did I even asked? I know what I'm doing! Don't you dare bother me again.", Zim walked away in a huff.

"Well if you need any help I'm always here!", Eric shouted. When the little irken left he ate the rest of his meal in one swift bite once again.

Qor was reading a book when Zim barged in the kitchen, a sight Zim did not appreciate.

"You're done with your "updates" already?", he flipped a page unaffected by the irken's heated glare.

"Quiet you insufferable worm! You're not on break so why am I seeing you slack off?!", Zim made a grab at his book but wasn't quick enough as Qor simply ducked.

"Guessing that's a no.", he shut his book and put it away in his pak. A distinctive rumble is heard in the distance which can only mean one thing.

"You should probably put on your uniform. You know you were in plain clothes the entire day.", the impassive employee pointed out. Zim tensed up at the statement shocked that he didn't notice the entire time he was working. He ran into the closet and a second later he stumbled out wearing his uniform.

"I'll take the cash register.", the defect leaped out of the window and collided with Gashloog.

"Gashloog, you're on cleaning duties for the rest of the night!", Zim ordered the poor employee below him.

"Yes, my substitute Frylord.", the irken said wearily. Right on time, the front doors burst open with customers flooding the front.

* * *

The next day Zim was up bright and early. The particularly bad food rush from last night still hitting him hard but he can manage. In his hands, he had several decommissioned signs and menu pads that Sizz-lorr always kept as a backup even though they had long worn out their usefulness; they were perfect for the purpose he has in mind. He headed toward a secluded part of the restaurant; the room looked unassuming with its dull gray door, stitch-like patterns, and a sign reading employees only. Zim stepped inside onto a pink circular platform that was just big enough to fit the big boss himself, after pressing the password in a keypad confirming he was an employee, the platform sank below the surface.

The way Shloogorgh's building structure worked was that it has 3 stories, the part where it's visible is only the first story of the building, the second story was where monies, equipment, and the main computer resides. The third story, however, was an area off limits to Zim completely because it was where the Frylord's personal chamber was located. When he reached the floor he walked over to the building's computerized central system. It was as basic as it comes with no automatic defenses, regenerative properties, or A.I to speak of. Zim would need to do a lot of upgrading to get it to work the way he wants it to. Zim estimated the process would probably take about a week tops to get it operational.

He pulled out the dashboard causing dust to spew out and suffocate the ex-invader, after waiting for the dust to settle began his work. Using the guts of the broken signs as material he wired, replaced, and added to the mainframe. Zim pulled out a rat's nest of wires and cables, something he would have to painstakingly sort out. This was going to take a lot longer than he expected.

* * *

Finally finished. His countless hours of hard work spanning a couple weeks would finally pay off. A wicked smile widened across Zim's face as he begins to cackle. He booted up the computer. As it flickered on it hummed to life.

"Processing… 10%... 32%... 69%... 83%... 99%... COMPLETE"

"Yes!", Zim cheered. But before he celebrate further the computer shut down.

"WHAT?!", Zim started typing in codes hoping to save it but it did nothing. He smashed his hands on the keyboard and kicked the frame in frustration.

"Stupid machine!", after he said that the lights shut off and the tiny irken was left in complete darkness.

* * *

Above ground the two Shloogarg workers were quietly at their stations. Qor sat at a bench reading a book while Gashloog was manning the kitchen working with the mixer. Despite not having (meaningful) leadership to help lead them during the past two weeks it hadn't really affected them. If anything the work was easier without the defect making a mess every ten minutes.

But of course the peace didn't last. It never does when Zim is in the same building.

Everything went haywires for several seconds before shutting off, the lights, signs, and equipment. Everything.

"Qor! Help!", Gashloog gave out a weak plea.

"Coming.", Qor closed his book before coming to his coworker's rescue.

When he came through the kitchen door he found that Gashloog had gotten his uniform stuck on the machine. He tugged on his apron but it' wasn't budging.

"Don't move. Let me see it I can disassemble it."

* * *

Back underground Zim was trying to fix the problem. Using the light from his pak he inspected the inside trying find anything he overlooked. He finally found the problem in the form of a wrongly connected wire. He clipped then rewired it. After crawling out of the opening he rebooted the system again. The computer had turned on and went back to processing. It was taking longer this time but at least the restaurant had power again.

* * *

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!", Gashloog spun in the mixer while Qor was desperately pressing the off button.

"THE PLUG"

"OH-AH THE PLUG! SORRY!", Qor dove over the counter and pulled at the plug but it wouldn't move.

"HEEELP!"

"I'm on it, hold on!", Qor resorted to chewing the plug, but it did nothing.

* * *

The processing is almost finished but on the 99% it crashed again, much to Zim's dismay.

"Arhhhhn, curses!"

He crawled back into the frame in searching for anymore faults.

* * *

"Okay let's get you free before the power comes back!"

"As if we weren't doing that before!", Gashloog snapped.

"Point taken.", Qor tried detangling Gashloog but he was really crammed in the mechanism. He pulled out a laser began cutting the metal arm.

* * *

Zim emerged from the frame with growing confidence. This time it has to be working perfectly. The screen turned on but flickered wildly then turned red.

"What now?!", but before he could say anything else arm like cables shot out of the ceiling and started zapping Zim with shots of electricity as the screen read "INTRUDER". He ran and dodged every strike against him as fast as he can but was blindsided by one of the arms. As he crumples to the floor the tendril wrapped itself around the drone and merciless pounded him to the ground.

"Computer stopped this at once!", Zim commanded trying to sound as authoritative as possible. As least as much as one can be while being beaten brutally.

The order had no effect on the computer. After a good thrashing the arms pulled at Zim's limbs, stretching until cracking is heard.

"NOT THE FRYLORD", the computer spoke.

Zim growled trying to think of a solution. He kicked wildly and manages to knock an attacking arm down and fell onto the frame causing the computed to go on the fritz and crashing again. The arms let go of him and retracted into the ceiling again.

"Ugh! Why isn't it working!", Zim crawled back to find what was the problem.

* * *

The mixer spun uncontrollably again but it was erratic in it's movement, stopping and starting over and over until it died down again. The laser didn't work so Qor resorted to pulling at the uniform and limbs hoping he will free Gashloog that way. But every tug is causing the trapped irken pain.

* * *

"A candy wrapper! A freakin candy wrapper!", Zim threw the trash on the ground in anger. Maybe this time it'll work. He booted up the system yet again. This time around everything appears to be in working order. The processing restarted taking even slower than the previous attempts. Zim tapped his foot impatiently gritting his teeth. While waiting his mind wondered back to the crew and what they were doing. He'll have to check on them after this.

Above ground the rescue attempt failed spectacularly as both screamed in terror spinning in the mixer at a nauseous speed. The high speed combined with the weight of the two irkens caused the pot to wobble and then after what seemed like forever the mixer exploded sending the two across the kitchen.

"Success!", Zim shouted. The computer finally went online. Now to test it out. He scanned through the security camera feed to see everything in order, except the kitchen. It was a mess with two irkens laying on the ground. Angered Zim turned on the mic.

"What are you two doing? Get back to work and clean up this mess!"

"Uhhhhhg", was all Qor could muster up.

"Yes. my substitute Frylord…", Gashloog said barely having the energy to salute.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This story is based off fanart I did and it was a train of thought that escalated and turned into a fanfic. I really don't have much of a plan for this story other than plot points strung together by comedic convenience. So a fair warning, updates won't be consistent. Honestly, Zim doesn't become Frylord until way later.  
> Hopefully my grammar and storytelling ain't too bad.  
> Here's the link to the fanart. >>http://retro-7.tumblr.com/post/146307516730/frylord-zim-au-ive-been-wanting-to-write-a-fic  
> I would love to hear suggestions, critiques, and ideas from you guys.


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